More About the Dream Team

The middle of the night is one of the loneliest times for patients and for families with a seriously
ill loved one. This is when families have the fewest resources to call upon, and when death most
frequently occurs. It is a frightening time, when a loved one may be suffering pain or
experiencing confusing symptoms.

That is when the Pathways Dream Team stands ready to help. An on-call nursing team, the
Dream Team provides telephone and in-person assistance at night and on weekends to
Pathways patients as well as to family members caring for a seriously ill or dying loved one.
Knowing help is just a phone call away gives patients ease and families the peace of mind
and confidence to provide care.

A Peninsula resident, whose husband died in June, recounted:

“I only called when my husband was having difficulty breathing or in severe pain. Wow, they were terrific! One nurse came from San Francisco and stayed with my husband while I went to the drugstore to get medicine for him. She gave me directions for caring for him and then checked my notes to be sure I knew what to do. I felt very secure.

“We used to joke that there was never an emergency during the day or at 8 p.m. It was always midnight or after; strange things would happen. I would call on the phone, and then the hospice nurse would come and take over. I never felt rushed. They stayed until he was comfortable and I was comfortable.”

Pathways created the Dream Team, a specially-trained group of skilled professionals, to help families at such times. The Team’s only function is to provide skilled, knowledgeable, caring support during evenings and weekends. With the Dream Team, no matter the time, no matter the circumstance, a phone call brings immediate help. Many concerns can be resolved over the phone, but when needed, a nurse goes directly to the home, at any hour of the day or night. Said one of our family members:

“On the night my husband died, the nurse came from across the Bay in a violent rain and wind storm to help him, and me.”

The Dream Team program allows nurses to address a patient’s problems when they occur after regular hours, getting them help more quickly, and often avoiding an emergency room visit or hospitalization.

Covering the five Bay Area counties of Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa, the Dream Team provides telephone consultations and home visits between 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. seven days a week, 365 days a year.